There is one conspicuous absence from the entry list, but seven LIV Golf stars have received special invitations to compete at the PGA Championship next week.
Louis Oosthuizen, a star player for LIV Golf, has chosen to decline an invitation to play in the PGA Championship next week, citing “personal commitments.”
Sixteen LIV stars, including the reigning champion Brooks Koepka, who won his third PGA Championship at Oak Hill last May, will be competing in the second major of the season in Kentucky. With the league’s membership continuing to fall in the global rankings, seven of those have received special invites.
Talor Gooch, the featured name on the invitation list, is getting his first shot at a major championship after winning LIV’s 2023 championship. Gooch had his best season to date last year, winning three times on the Saudi-sponsored circuit and taking home the annual title.
Though LIV continued to host its events without offering points toward the Official World Golf Ranking, his efforts were not acknowledged in the rankings. Gooch’s ranking has dropped to 644th on the world list as a result, disqualifying him from competing in 2024’s four main events.
Following his invitation to the PGA, he will make his major comeback after missing the Masters last month. After the field for the championship in Kentucky was announced on Tuesday, he was joined on the special exemption list by Joaquin Niemann, Patrick Reed, Adrian Meronk, David Puig, and Lucas Herbert.
Oosthuizen was conspicuously absent from the list, though. The Associated Press has since revealed that the 41-year-old chose to decline an invitation to compete because of unidentified obligations in his personal life. The South African has been competing in the Saudi-backed league, the DP World Tour, the Sunshine Tour, and the Asian Tour, and he has been in impressive form lately.
Former Open champion Oosthuizen has excelled this season away from LIV, taking home back-to-back victories on the DP World Tour and Sunshine Tour in December. The South African took first place at the Alfred Dunhill Championship, held at home, and then one week later, won the Mauritius Open.
The LIV star has also finished second in the International Series event held by the Asian Tour in Oman in February. Additionally, she has finished second twice in the breakaway circuit in Adelaide and Jeddah. After three top-10 finishes in his last five starts, he is currently ranked fourth in LIV’s season-long standings.
Last month, Oosthuizen missed his first Masters since 2008 due to his decline in the world rankings, which prevented him from qualifying for Augusta National. The South African continued by demanding “total change” in order to improve LIV stars’ access to the four main events.
“I think the whole system needs to change completely,” he said to Gulf News.The system where Majors get spots on every tour in the world or something similar should be changed if they don’t want to award us World Ranking points on LIV Golf. I can’t believe there isn’t a solution, as those guys from OWGR have a lot more experience than I do from sitting on boards and doing other things.
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